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RESTO Project Dog House: 1996 Challenger
- Thread starter rjcress
- Start date
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suke
Well-Known Member
Ran perfect for 40 minutes. Parked to let it cool off (part of break-in process), then we will go out for a few more minutes
Awesome!!!!!
rjcress
Active Member
I printed the break-in instructions from the following thread and am following them:
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?18-Proper-Engine-Break-in-Procedures-for-Jet-Skis
Per those instructions, I let it warm up for 10 min at the dock, then putted around for 30 min varying between idle and 20% throttle.
Then let it sit for 20 minutes... I know, the directions said 30 minutes... but the engine hatch was off and a nice breeze blowing... and the boat ramp was closing soon. So we went back out for another 20 minutes of running varying rpms up to 50% throttle before the guy at the boat ramp came out and flashed his lights at us that it was time to go.
To my surprise, we got on plane at 50% throttle, and were able to stay on plane at anything over about 35% if we were going straight.
We didn't do the full 30 minutes at 50%, so I'll stick with that power setting for the next outing, then go up to 90% for subsequent outings until the first 10 gallons are gone.
Only issue I noticed is a little loading up in the mid-range transition. I think I've read that is often leaky needle value seats. Thoughts anyone?
Oh, I almost forgot the most DISTRESSING issue on this trip.
My 8 year old was complaining the whole 10 minute warm up and 30 minutes of 20% or less... "dad... go faster... this is Boring"
I honestly had to laugh when we went out the second time and increased throttle to planing speed. My daughter started screeching and clinging to the grab handles for her life. She was TERRIFIED!:willy_nilly:
:willy_nilly:
That didn't sound right.:facepalm:
I didn't find her terror funny... rather I found the irony hilarious that she wanted to go fast, until we started to go a little bit fast, then she just wanted me to STOP RIGHT NOW (which I didn't do). My Father cruises his Sea Ray at around 30-35, and that doesn't bother her at all. I'd guess that we were doing 30 or less, so I'm not sure why it scared her. Although I suspect that the change in engine tone is what did it, as I had the engine cover off so I could keep an eye on things.
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?18-Proper-Engine-Break-in-Procedures-for-Jet-Skis
Per those instructions, I let it warm up for 10 min at the dock, then putted around for 30 min varying between idle and 20% throttle.
Then let it sit for 20 minutes... I know, the directions said 30 minutes... but the engine hatch was off and a nice breeze blowing... and the boat ramp was closing soon. So we went back out for another 20 minutes of running varying rpms up to 50% throttle before the guy at the boat ramp came out and flashed his lights at us that it was time to go.
To my surprise, we got on plane at 50% throttle, and were able to stay on plane at anything over about 35% if we were going straight.
We didn't do the full 30 minutes at 50%, so I'll stick with that power setting for the next outing, then go up to 90% for subsequent outings until the first 10 gallons are gone.
Only issue I noticed is a little loading up in the mid-range transition. I think I've read that is often leaky needle value seats. Thoughts anyone?
Oh, I almost forgot the most DISTRESSING issue on this trip.
My 8 year old was complaining the whole 10 minute warm up and 30 minutes of 20% or less... "dad... go faster... this is Boring"
I honestly had to laugh when we went out the second time and increased throttle to planing speed. My daughter started screeching and clinging to the grab handles for her life. She was TERRIFIED!:willy_nilly:
:willy_nilly: That didn't sound right.:facepalm:
I didn't find her terror funny... rather I found the irony hilarious that she wanted to go fast, until we started to go a little bit fast, then she just wanted me to STOP RIGHT NOW (which I didn't do). My Father cruises his Sea Ray at around 30-35, and that doesn't bother her at all. I'd guess that we were doing 30 or less, so I'm not sure why it scared her. Although I suspect that the change in engine tone is what did it, as I had the engine cover off so I could keep an eye on things.
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Glad it went well. I'll say it's fine to follow the instructions, but for ME, I prefer the boat to be on plane, I feel that the engine(s) are working too hard pushing all that hull through the water not being on plane. I wouldn't touch the carbs until your through the pre-mix and the next tank, just keep checking the plugs. If you have 30:1 pre-mix in there that is way fat. 40 or 50:1 for the first tank is good to go. The pre-mix at 30:1 is probably causing your loading up. And don't worry about your little girl, she'll get hooked in no time. My daughter cried every trip until she would fall asleep in my wife's arms. Gosh that was the longest 20 minutes and I thought she'd never like the boat, now she loves it. I put up with that for a season, but what do you expect from a 2.5 year old. I also never turned back, she was in for the long haul. Congrats on the second Maiden voyage!
rjcress
Active Member
Doh! Yeah. That makes perfect sense. Thanks.
And my daughter told me this morning that she wasn't scared of going fast. She was scared that the boat would break again as soon as we started going fast. :facepalm::blush::facepalm::blush:
Re-installed the engine hatch this morning.
Checked the plugs. As expected with soooooo much oil in the gas, they were black and the PTO plug post had a layer of dried oil residue flaking off of it. Looking back at the first run last month when the carb gasket was leaking (prior to the melted pistons), the PTO plug had some gray/white crusty, almost crystal residue on the post. I should have known that meant it was WAY overheated. No evidence of overheating at all this time.
Thanks again everyone for the support and continued feedback.
Guest_User
New Member
awesome RJ that it`s running well again! when I have more time I`ll go thru the thread again! Good luck my friend!:cheers:
rjcress
Active Member
Having liberated the rest of the crazy pink/purple/teal paintbrush stripe graphics from the hull Monday, I got out the buffer and tried to buff out some of the difference between the pristine gel that was under the stickers and the surrounding gel that has 17 years of exposure. Only got to do the port side before I had an issue with the adhesive on the velcro that secures the buffing pads to the buffer. Not thrilled with how it turned out. It is better, but still somewhat obvious where the stickers used to be. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but annoys me a bit.
Should I wet sand this area, then start over with the cutting pad, polishing pad, and wax/buff pad?
Also, my wife asked me what I wanted for Father's day yesterday, which surprised me since I have spent way too much unbudgeted $ on the Challenger. I sent her links to the stereo and speakers that I installed in the big boat last year, and a new weather cover for the stereo. Since she used my Amazon Prime account I got an email a couple of hours later that she had ordered them for me.
Too bad the weather cover is NOT a Prime eligible item. UPS tracking says it won't get to me until Friday the 14th, while the radio and speakers should be here Monday (which is odd, I expected to have it by Friday (tomorrow).
My wife willingly contributing to the jet boat is a surprise and a big deal.
She actually said that she is looking forward to riding in it this weekend as well!
Maybe I'll hold off on ordering the "Dog House" boat name sticker for the back of the boat.
Which brings up another lower priority, but outstanding issue:
-The interior is older and mismatched, but functional. If I keep the boat, I suppose I can live with it a while longer. If I sell it, then I'll need to replace it all prior to the sale.
I can not stand the color scheme that was use on this model. Green, purple, pink, and teal... what in the world was the designer high on when they came up with that?!
I would love to hear suggestions on alternate color schemes. I'm OK with the green, although I'm also open to either getting a different color hood or painting the one I have.... which means that we can consider this a white boat...
grrrrr
I just remembered that the stupid rub rail is also purple... although the insert is missing. I'll definitely replace the insert with black, but don't want to drill out a bazillion rivets to remove the old purple rail. Maybe I can tape off the hull and paint the purple part.
Anyhow, starting with the white boat with light grey turf, what ideas on color schemes do you guys have?
I'm talking about interior, hood, & exterior stickers. I've seen the pics Dr. Honda posted early in this thread. What other ideas to you all have? Pics would be a huge help.
I'll order from Keith, and he can do whatever colors I want.
Should I wet sand this area, then start over with the cutting pad, polishing pad, and wax/buff pad?
Also, my wife asked me what I wanted for Father's day yesterday, which surprised me since I have spent way too much unbudgeted $ on the Challenger. I sent her links to the stereo and speakers that I installed in the big boat last year, and a new weather cover for the stereo. Since she used my Amazon Prime account I got an email a couple of hours later that she had ordered them for me.
Too bad the weather cover is NOT a Prime eligible item. UPS tracking says it won't get to me until Friday the 14th, while the radio and speakers should be here Monday (which is odd, I expected to have it by Friday (tomorrow).
My wife willingly contributing to the jet boat is a surprise and a big deal.
She actually said that she is looking forward to riding in it this weekend as well!
Maybe I'll hold off on ordering the "Dog House" boat name sticker for the back of the boat.
Which brings up another lower priority, but outstanding issue:
-The interior is older and mismatched, but functional. If I keep the boat, I suppose I can live with it a while longer. If I sell it, then I'll need to replace it all prior to the sale.
I can not stand the color scheme that was use on this model. Green, purple, pink, and teal... what in the world was the designer high on when they came up with that?!
I would love to hear suggestions on alternate color schemes. I'm OK with the green, although I'm also open to either getting a different color hood or painting the one I have.... which means that we can consider this a white boat...
grrrrr
I just remembered that the stupid rub rail is also purple... although the insert is missing. I'll definitely replace the insert with black, but don't want to drill out a bazillion rivets to remove the old purple rail. Maybe I can tape off the hull and paint the purple part.
Anyhow, starting with the white boat with light grey turf, what ideas on color schemes do you guys have?
I'm talking about interior, hood, & exterior stickers. I've seen the pics Dr. Honda posted early in this thread. What other ideas to you all have? Pics would be a huge help.
I'll order from Keith, and he can do whatever colors I want.
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rjcress
Active Member
The boat is prepped for the drive to the lake tonight. I even finished repairing the cover of an old towable tube in case things go well enough that I can pull the kids sometime before the weekend is over. :coolgleam:
Have to remember to pick up another jug of injector oil before we leave.
I hope i'm not jinxing things by bringing a tube to pull the kids on, or expecting to need more oil.
Have to remember to pick up another jug of injector oil before we leave.
I hope i'm not jinxing things by bringing a tube to pull the kids on, or expecting to need more oil.
IDoSeaDoo
Well-Known Member
Careful with that trailer... I SOMEHOW bent the SH!T out of mine, and I"m pretty sure I did it while towing. There were no dents from someone hitting me or anything, but when I look down the center of the trailer, the tongue is aimed about a foot to the right... It's the damnest thing. I suspect it might have happened when I was towing during rush hour and had to make quick turns from stop to make it into traffic. Apparently these trailers aren't THAT tough, and mine is the heavier galvenized one. Didn't know my 4-banger Jetta had that much torque... Not sure how I'm going to set it true, but once I do, I'm welding two heavy plates at that area where the beams join. Good luck!
rjcress
Active Member
That is bizzare. I've only ever seen a trailer tongue bent when the driver basically jack-knifed it while backing up, or if there was an accident and something impacted the trailer tongue (car, other boat trailer, garage door). I can't see how you could bend it and not know you did it (unless you are a zombie, but you don't type like a zombie). Maybe someone hit it in the parking lot while it was parked last time you had the boat out?
Reminds me of coming out of a store once and finding scratches on the side of my red motorcycle, and little scrapes of red paint on the pavement. Someone obviously knocked it over and set it back up while I was in the store.
I don't think you're jinxing anything. Confidence is the name of the game. Don't forget a set of ear plugs. Enjoy the trip.
As far as colors go, Krylon fusion the hood either satin black or yellow ( Krylon Fusion ) This stuff is awesome. The for the seats yellow and black or yellow and gray. I'm heavy on the yellow, and the gray, LOL. The tape off the rub rail and Fusion Satin black it. It works awesome. If you check out my HX build thread all the purple trim was removed and painted with the satin fusion then I riveted it back on. I took the front bumper and twisted it 180 deg. and it didn't crack or anything. If you scratch back through you can touch it back up.
As far as colors go, Krylon fusion the hood either satin black or yellow ( Krylon Fusion ) This stuff is awesome. The for the seats yellow and black or yellow and gray. I'm heavy on the yellow, and the gray, LOL. The tape off the rub rail and Fusion Satin black it. It works awesome. If you check out my HX build thread all the purple trim was removed and painted with the satin fusion then I riveted it back on. I took the front bumper and twisted it 180 deg. and it didn't crack or anything. If you scratch back through you can touch it back up.
IDoSeaDoo
Well-Known Member
Nope, don't think anyone hit it. To hit it that hard, someone would've left a huge dent somewhere else. The rest of the trailer is CLEAN. No marks anywhere. Never jackknifed this trailer either, but I did take two left turns pretty hard to jump into the incessant stream of cars. The bend is consistent with the turn.
rjcress
Active Member
Great info. Thanks. :thumbsup:
I too have a fondness for yellow. Just thinking about bright yellow makes me miss my Corvette. Sold it a few months ago...
rjcress
Active Member
Do you have any pics of this? I can't visualize what you are talking about.
rjcress
Active Member
AWESOME day at the lake. After I fried the engine in the Challenger a few weeks ago and had to send it back to SES to be rebuilt again, the investment was getting some criticism. Who knows, it may still turn out to be a bust, but today.... today it ran like a champ. Almost 8 hours on the fresh rebuild and it purred like an angry kitten the whole time. Running it really heavy on 2 stroke oil for the break in period. So it has been smoking like a rebellious teenager. First tank of gas is nearly empty (burned probably 23 gallons so far). Looking forward to seeing how much less it smokes on plain gas.
Actually pulled the kids on the tube several times today. The youngest (8) LOVED it and was directing me to go faster and look for wake. The oldest (10) was not quite as aggressive, but close (he claimed to have blacked out for 30 seconds after getting big air on some wake). The middle one (9) would protest if I got up to planing speed and freaked if there was any wake.
Actually pulled the kids on the tube several times today. The youngest (8) LOVED it and was directing me to go faster and look for wake. The oldest (10) was not quite as aggressive, but close (he claimed to have blacked out for 30 seconds after getting big air on some wake). The middle one (9) would protest if I got up to planing speed and freaked if there was any wake.
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suke
Well-Known Member
suke
Well-Known Member
Awesome! Sounds like your day went better than mine.
rjcress
Active Member
With almost 10 hours successful hours on the engine since the last rebuild, I moved on to a more "cosmetic" issue...
I removed the old radio cover and put in a new cover, radio, and speakers.
I swear, the prior owner had a thing for using the wrong materials...
I mentioned a few months ago that he had installed a new bilge pump float switch, and joined the wires with wire nuts.
He also had installed speakers using regular screws. I was only able to get 2 of the 8 screws out, the others were so rusted that the heads stripped or broke off. I thought that swapping the old speakers for new one's would be the easy part of this job, taking maybe 10 minutes. It ended up taking MUCH longer as I had to drill the heads off of half of the screws. Given that I had ordered a "Marine" radio and speakers kit, I was shocked to find non-stainless screws in the kit. My stash of stainless screws is on the big boat, so I had to swallow my pride and temporarily use the stock screws to hold the speakers in place. I'll swap them for stainless screws later this week when we get to the lake.
Also found that the "brass" screws that I used to hold the new battery tray down are rusting.
Something tells me that they aren't really brass. Guess I'll be swapping those also. :facepalm:
I've got 3 other things on my list, although I likely won't get them all done tonight (leaving for the lake after work tomorrow):
-install LED lights on transom, in engine bay, and in the passenger area.
-install a fishfinder that I had laying around... the thing is HUGE and NOT a good fit for the Challenger... but it is paid for and on-hand. I'm going to mount it to the white cup holder insert at the helm so that I can easily remove it by taking out the cup holder (a $2.50 item at walmart). This unit has a transom mount transducer and lists 3 options for mounting: transom on a flat, transom on an angle (for high speed), or inside the hull. I know that the inside the hull mount will degrade performance, but I used silicone to glue it to the floor of the ski locker just below the driver's feet. If it works well enough, then I'll leave it there. If not, I'll look at other options.
-Install a 2" voltage gauge. I've got the hole saw and installation should be pretty straight forward... just can't decide where I want to put it. Most likely options are the center of the instrument cluster above the steering wheel and to the right of the steering wheel, in between the wheel and the cup holder.
All of these electrical installations, combined with my faulty fuse block in front of the helm, have me agreeing with PR that I need to install positive and negative bus bars behind the helm. The way the wiring is evolving now is looking rather Bubba-ish, and that drives me nuts.
uke:
ahhhhh! late for a dr appointment, gotta go!
I removed the old radio cover and put in a new cover, radio, and speakers.
I swear, the prior owner had a thing for using the wrong materials...
I mentioned a few months ago that he had installed a new bilge pump float switch, and joined the wires with wire nuts.
He also had installed speakers using regular screws. I was only able to get 2 of the 8 screws out, the others were so rusted that the heads stripped or broke off. I thought that swapping the old speakers for new one's would be the easy part of this job, taking maybe 10 minutes. It ended up taking MUCH longer as I had to drill the heads off of half of the screws. Given that I had ordered a "Marine" radio and speakers kit, I was shocked to find non-stainless screws in the kit. My stash of stainless screws is on the big boat, so I had to swallow my pride and temporarily use the stock screws to hold the speakers in place. I'll swap them for stainless screws later this week when we get to the lake.
Also found that the "brass" screws that I used to hold the new battery tray down are rusting.
Something tells me that they aren't really brass. Guess I'll be swapping those also. :facepalm:
I've got 3 other things on my list, although I likely won't get them all done tonight (leaving for the lake after work tomorrow):
-install LED lights on transom, in engine bay, and in the passenger area.
-install a fishfinder that I had laying around... the thing is HUGE and NOT a good fit for the Challenger... but it is paid for and on-hand. I'm going to mount it to the white cup holder insert at the helm so that I can easily remove it by taking out the cup holder (a $2.50 item at walmart). This unit has a transom mount transducer and lists 3 options for mounting: transom on a flat, transom on an angle (for high speed), or inside the hull. I know that the inside the hull mount will degrade performance, but I used silicone to glue it to the floor of the ski locker just below the driver's feet. If it works well enough, then I'll leave it there. If not, I'll look at other options.
-Install a 2" voltage gauge. I've got the hole saw and installation should be pretty straight forward... just can't decide where I want to put it. Most likely options are the center of the instrument cluster above the steering wheel and to the right of the steering wheel, in between the wheel and the cup holder.
All of these electrical installations, combined with my faulty fuse block in front of the helm, have me agreeing with PR that I need to install positive and negative bus bars behind the helm. The way the wiring is evolving now is looking rather Bubba-ish, and that drives me nuts.
uke:ahhhhh! late for a dr appointment, gotta go!
jhjesse
Well-Known Member
With almost 10 hours successful hours on the engine since the last rebuild, I moved on to a more "cosmetic" issue...
I removed the old radio cover and put in a new cover, radio, and speakers.
I swear, the prior owner had a thing for using the wrong materials...
I mentioned a few months ago that he had installed a new bilge pump float switch, and joined the wires with wire nuts.
He also had installed speakers using regular screws. I was only able to get 2 of the 8 screws out, the others were so rusted that the heads stripped or broke off. I thought that swapping the old speakers for new one's would be the easy part of this job, taking maybe 10 minutes. It ended up taking MUCH longer as I had to drill the heads off of half of the screws. Given that I had ordered a "Marine" radio and speakers kit, I was shocked to find non-stainless screws in the kit. My stash of stainless screws is on the big boat, so I had to swallow my pride and temporarily use the stock screws to hold the speakers in place. I'll swap them for stainless screws later this week when we get to the lake.
Also found that the "brass" screws that I used to hold the new battery tray down are rusting.
Something tells me that they aren't really brass. Guess I'll be swapping those also. :facepalm:
I've got 3 other things on my list, although I likely won't get them all done tonight (leaving for the lake after work tomorrow):
-install LED lights on transom, in engine bay, and in the passenger area.
-install a fishfinder that I had laying around... the thing is HUGE and NOT a good fit for the Challenger... but it is paid for and on-hand. I'm going to mount it to the white cup holder insert at the helm so that I can easily remove it by taking out the cup holder (a $2.50 item at walmart). This unit has a transom mount transducer and lists 3 options for mounting: transom on a flat, transom on an angle (for high speed), or inside the hull. I know that the inside the hull mount will degrade performance, but I used silicone to glue it to the floor of the ski locker just below the driver's feet. If it works well enough, then I'll leave it there. If not, I'll look at other options.
-Install a 2" voltage gauge. I've got the hole saw and installation should be pretty straight forward... just can't decide where I want to put it. Most likely options are the center of the instrument cluster above the steering wheel and to the right of the steering wheel, in between the wheel and the cup holder.
All of these electrical installations, combined with my faulty fuse block in front of the helm, have me agreeing with PR that I need to install positive and negative bus bars behind the helm. The way the wiring is evolving now is looking rather Bubba-ish, and that drives me nuts.
ahhhhh! late for a dr appointment, gotta go!
Did you take the ski locker sock off? I epoxied mine (transom mount) to the hull just below the ski locker sock (flat). It also gave me a chance to clean the sock...and boy was it nasty. Works perfectly there. I had a back up angle transmitter just in case. Might be something to look into because there is less turbulence there.
rjcress
Active Member
jhjesse
Well-Known Member
Um....
what is the Ski Locker Sock?:blush:
Crap...I bet yours does not have it. My 1800 has a black fabric sock on the forward part of the center floor locker that extends the ski locker to accommodate longer water skis. I took mine off and mounted my transducer there below on the floor. Then reattached the sock.
Guest_User
New Member
I removed the sock to do the same and just left it off... when I get around to it, I`ll clean up some more mold I found under there...
Guest_User
New Member
silicone for gluing in the transducer is a No NO, it will absorb the sound waves.
use 2 part epoxy only... I`m pretty sure I used the white Loctite marine 2 part epoxy...:thumbsup:
use 2 part epoxy only... I`m pretty sure I used the white Loctite marine 2 part epoxy...:thumbsup:
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